You always tend to find that the start of a year garnerssome of the less exciting releases of the year, although in 2015 that hasn’tbeen the case. As our two previous features showed you, 2015 is already shapingup to be a big year. Read on to find out which songs have been rattling insideour skulls in our latest New Music Roundup.
ALABAMA SHAKES – DON’T WANNA FIGHT
The American blues-rock quartet recently announced details of their second studio album Sound & Colour, unleashing lead single Don’t Wanna Fight and album track Future People in the process. Don’t Wanna Fight is everything we expect from Alabama Shakes and more – blues grooves, raw riffs and intense vocals from Brittany Howard. Sound & Colour is set to be one of the best albums of the year, something which we can definitely agree on if this song is anything to go by.
PALMA VIOLETS – DANGER IN THE CLUB
Palma Violets are another group set to release their second album this year, following the underground success of 2013’s 180. Its ramshackle combination of pub-rock and festival anthems made them one of the most hotly anticipated acts of the year. Second album Danger in the Club has been slated for a May release, with its title track being premiered last night. The song is, to an extent, Palma Violets by numbers, although it has an added sheen and sense of maturity to it before climaxing in an anthemic outro. Palma Violets have stepped up and shown us that they’ll tackle Second Album Syndrome head on.
SPECTOR – ALL THE SAD YOUNG MEN
Londoners Spector will also join the second album club later this year, following the success of 2012’s Enjoy It While It Lasts. All The Sad Young Men, as we’ve said previously, is a world away from the Vaccines-flecked indie rock of their debut, rather opting for a heavily synth influenced approach on this power ballad. It’s a future festival anthem, that’s one thing we can absolutely guarantee you right now. Spector may not be the most well-known indie rock group around, but they’re certainly one of the only ones taking a step in the right direction.
BC CAMPLIGHT – THIEVES IN ANTIGUA
You’ve probably never heard of BC Camplight before, although that’s about to change. Recently released album How to Die in the North is a mixture of swirling psychedelia, Caribbean rhythms and woozy vocals which all come together best on the steel drum-laden Thieves in Antigua. A brass solo towards the halfway point is accompanied by a sliding steel guitar as the Manchester-based group boost your mood for the day ahead. If you’re a fan of Tame Impala, Temples or Pond’s more polished works, then BC Camplight is for you.
POND – MAN IT FEELS LIKE SPACE AGAIN
Speaking of Pond, here they are again in our New Music Roundup with another track from their stellar album Man It Feels Like Space Again. This time, the song in question is the title track, an 8-minute epic which transitions from sound to sound effortlessly and is spearheaded by the hypnotic couplet of “we can talk by the river, we can walk right up to the sea”. Frontman Nick Allbrook is a chaotic musician, yet on Man It Feels Like Space Again we can see his dreamier side thanks to a mix of spaced-out guitars and numbed harmonies. Pond are a class act, there’s no doubt about that.
OF MICE & MEN – BROKEN GENERATION
Of Mice & Men are a relentless band. When not making new music, they’re touring, and vice versa. There’s no stopping the Mesa quintet, especially in 2015. Following 2014’s successful Restoring Force album, the band have decided to re-package the album under the guise of Restoring Force: Full Circle and add three new songs. Broken Generation, the first of these three to be unleashed, is a mix of more radio-friendly rock and hardcore as bassist Aaron Pauley asks, “can you pick up all the pieces of this broken generation?” alongside frontman Austin Carlile’s brutal growls and fierceful howls. Don’t stand in the way of Of Mice & Men, as all they’ll do is tear you down. Catch them on tour this spring with The Amity Affliction and Volumes, you won’t regret it.
